I believe that students will always accomplish more if they work together as a community rather than as separate and individual learners. A classroom should be an environment that fosters teamwork and allows each student to contribute effectively to the learning community. This is why the importance of respect in this setting cannot be stressed enough, as it is impossible for a teacher to build a hardworking team with their students if some members do not give themselves or others the respect that they have earned. I also believe that the ability to listen and learn from your classmates is a skill that every student should be allowed to develop and is just as important as learning to listen to, respect, and trust yourself. Every student has their own unique level of outgoing behavior, confidence, and interpersonal skills. It is my goal to create a classroom environment where the shy are given the opportunity to build their confidence at a comfortable pace and the more extroverted students work to develop their listening skills at a comparable rate.
On a more science-related note, I wish to show my students how what they do and learn in my class applies to the real world. I want them to constantly make connections between the science content and what they already know. I always think of the brain as a roadmap. The most efficient infrastructure is one in which the roads frequently intersect and allow for new routes; it’s easier to get lost and confused when you are forced to take a roundabout way to get somewhere. Students should also be given the opportunity to see how science can help them in their other subjects. This is especially helpful when convincing students who claim that their best and favorite subject is one in a different field. In chemistry, a student may see how the logarithms from their math class help them determine the pH of a liquid. A student in english may recognize latin roots, prefixes, and suffixes in many scientific terms and classification systems. The connections are limitless and by being asked to regularly seek out these connections, the students are learning to become problem solvers and critical thinkers, constantly assessing their current knowledge and comparing it to new information in order to make sense of it.
Ultimately, my teaching philosophy is one of letting students do a lot of the thinking and sharing. I’m there to facilitate an environment where they can treat each other with respect and to provide them with content while teaching them how to process and connect with that content. It does no good to give someone an assembly-required piece of furniture with complete instructions if they aren’t given the tools and space necessary to put it together.
On a more science-related note, I wish to show my students how what they do and learn in my class applies to the real world. I want them to constantly make connections between the science content and what they already know. I always think of the brain as a roadmap. The most efficient infrastructure is one in which the roads frequently intersect and allow for new routes; it’s easier to get lost and confused when you are forced to take a roundabout way to get somewhere. Students should also be given the opportunity to see how science can help them in their other subjects. This is especially helpful when convincing students who claim that their best and favorite subject is one in a different field. In chemistry, a student may see how the logarithms from their math class help them determine the pH of a liquid. A student in english may recognize latin roots, prefixes, and suffixes in many scientific terms and classification systems. The connections are limitless and by being asked to regularly seek out these connections, the students are learning to become problem solvers and critical thinkers, constantly assessing their current knowledge and comparing it to new information in order to make sense of it.
Ultimately, my teaching philosophy is one of letting students do a lot of the thinking and sharing. I’m there to facilitate an environment where they can treat each other with respect and to provide them with content while teaching them how to process and connect with that content. It does no good to give someone an assembly-required piece of furniture with complete instructions if they aren’t given the tools and space necessary to put it together.